Legacy of Empire

The University of Alberta Libraries houses one of the most outstanding collections of Austrian, Habsburg and Central European materials in North America. This unique strength has at its heart the acquisition of two major Austrian collections: the famous "Priesterseminar" library of the Archbishop of Salzburg, purchased in 1965, and the library of Viennese Juridisch-Politische Leseverin, purchased in 1969. The Salzburg Collection, one of the most important collections in Canada for Central European law studies, consists of the original law collection of the Seminary library of the Archbishop of Salzburg. The Priesterseminar Library has its origins in the Roman Catholic Ecumenical Council of Trent (1545-1563), at which the Catholic Church affirmed and clearly defined its dogmas in the face of the Protestant challenge. This catalogue, published to accompany a 2008 exhibit at the University of Alberta's Bruce Peel Special Collections Library, provides a glimpse into the riches of these two collections.